I know they're already outdated, but they are the best two choices within the options I have. I have read lots of conflicting reports between the two... It seems that the nvidia card is a little faster but the ati has dx11.... Which I'm not sure if I even care about. By the way this is pretty much purely for gaming. I've read lots of old posts but I figure now that both cards have been out a while some people can provide some advice based on their track records

I know they're already outdated, but they are the best two choices within the options I have. I have read lots of conflicting reports between the two... It seems that the nvidia card is a little faster but the ati has dx11.... Which I'm not sure if I even care about. By the way this is pretty much purely for gaming. I've read lots of old posts but I figure now that both cards have been out a while some people can provide some advice based on their track records

You're pretty accurate, generally the 260 Core 216 is slllightly faster, but like you said... 5770 has DX11. DX11 hasn't been necessary and isn't necessary right now, but depending on how long you're planning on keeping this computer, it would be wise to have a more useful card in the years to come. You would be very disappointed if you learned that in 1-2 years a game that you loved came out with DX11, and you couldn't support it. In my opinion, the very small difference in performance isn't worth as much to me.

EDIT: Oh, and I used to have a 5770 and it's an amazing card. It's been overclocked for over a year, my friend has it now and it's still a real solid card as everyone will tell you. So is the 260, so you can't really go wrong. It all boils down to preference... do you want raw power, a longer useful life, do you care about power consumption, etc.

It's been so long since i've made such a decision, i'm relearning everything. (currently i'm rockin a radeon 9700 pro).

I understand the future proofing aspect the 5770 may have with dx11, because I do plan on getting considerable mileage out of this rig, but how long will it really be before games require it? the 260 seems to outperform it in most benchmarks i've seen... oh decisions.

Well DX11 might not be REQUIRED for a few years, yes... but already there are games out that benefit from it. It also depends on what games you play, really. And if the game does support it, are you willing to play it on DX10 or something?

Honestly, I don't think you'd notice a difference in performance between the two cards...

I'm also curious as to how much this PC costs you, even with a discount compared to a custom built PC with more focus on the GPU. Perhaps you could create a build with more emphasis on certain areas you actually care about. For example... getting a GTX 460 =]

That is one AWFUL looking motherboard, Even my M4A77TD PRO looks to have more features than that one, as for the 5770, I'd go with the consensus, and with any luck you will be upgrading your graphics card in a year to a nice new 6xxx Series or maybe nVidia will be due out with there 5xx series?

to be honest, why not go for more of a top end graphics card, with such a great cpu and great ram speeds, what you should do is overclock the cpu just a bit and go for a better GPU, in the 400 series at least, what is your budget? i would recommend the GTX 460 MSI cyclone!!! 1 Gb 256 bit!!! great card and not that more expensive than the GTX 260 but with much better performance and Direct x 11!!!

Have you considered building a computer yourself rather than buying an HP? It will be cheaper and you will end up with a system built from higher quality components. It's not as hard as you might think, even if you have done it in the past. Over the last 5 years or so they have really streamlined the process to the point that my girlfriend watched me build one recently(knows nothing about computers) and said afterward she could have done it easily. Basically if you can plug in cables/card, use a screwdriver and follow simple instructions you can do it. A factor to consider here as well is overclocking. That processor is wasted at the stock speed and an HP will not allow you to overclock.But anyway, definitely the HD5770. Most of the reviews your are seeing with the GTX 260 beating the HD5770 are likely from when the card first came out and was on early drivers. Since then the performance of the cards has pretty much evened up. Also on top of DX11 it will also give you support for 3 monitors, more current A/V features and uses significantly less power, especially at idle.That said you most likely be better off getting the system with neither card if you do go for an HP. Buying the card separately afterward and installing it yourself will almost definitely save you money.

That is one AWFUL looking motherboard, Even my M4A77TD PRO looks to have more features than that one, as for the 5770, I'd go with the consensus, and with any luck you will be upgrading your graphics card in a year to a nice new 6xxx Series or maybe nVidia will be due out with there 5xx series?

Thx for the responses everyone even though now I'm even more undecided... What makes the MB so terrible??

And If I did say ok the hell with HP, keeping in mind I'm coming in under 1000 with the above mentioned proc and RAM Nd one of these 2 cards can someone throw together a parts list from newegg or something??

Thx for the responses everyone even though now I'm even more undecided... What makes the MB so terrible??

And If I did say ok the hell with HP, keeping in mind I'm coming in under 1000 with the above mentioned proc and RAM Nd one of these 2 cards can someone throw together a parts list from newegg or something??

Another idea is to go with integrated graphics and buy a graphics card after you get the computer. I'm sure HP charges a pretty penny for their OEM versions of the cards and out of everything to upgrade in a computer, the Graphics card is very very easy to do. (So is the PSU, if you have to do that as well...)